v7c drive shaft

[rbond]

Changing rear tire, drive shaft comes off output shaft on tranny. Can it somehow be put back on without taking swingarm off?

[SmithSwede]

You might be able to do something slick with a coat hanger wire.    I just gave up and removed the swing arm.  Not that big a deal. 

[pyoungbl]

now is a good time to slap some grease on the splines...both ends of the driveshaft.  As Swede said, it's no big deal to remove the swingarm.  The one issue is to reattach the bellows onto the tranny case.  I found that to be the worst part of the whole deal.

[rbond]

Pulled swingarm off. U-joint will not go back on tranny shaft. Need just that half inch more to reattach bevel drive. What could be keeping it from going back on? I can't believe all this trouble ( now TWO days blown just to change a tire? I am very close to dumping this on my bank's doorstep,'it's all yours now'. The closest shop that can work on Guzzi's, is 6 hours away in Houston. I am not thrilled with the idea of fighting with loading a one wheeled motorcycle onto a trailer just to have someone give a slight shove and their tongue held just so. For being a so called easy to work on, this is proving different. I just have to vent......

[Chuck in Indiana]

How about maybe you put too much grease on it and have a hydraulic lock? That's the only thing I can think of..

[rbond]

Did not grease that end when trying to put wheel back on. Removed swingarm, dryed the splined end, tried it dry, no go. Some splines at the tip of u-joint looked rounded, so I used a square file, same size as splines to open, did not help.

[SmithSwede]

Sorry Rbond.   We are trying to help.   I�m not sure I understand the problem you have.

If you have taken off the swingarm, then fit the U-joint to splines first.   Just get the driveshaft fitted up.   Once that is done, then slip swingarm over the driveshaft.  In other words, don’t try to fit the splines together while simultaneously messing with the swingarm.

I don�t see how the driveshaft U-joint won�t fit back over the spline.  I�d try multiple different positions, along with moderate �persuasion� from a rubber mallet.

Can you post some pictures of where this process is stalling?

Lots of smart folks on here who can help.  Don�t give up and dump on bank.

And worst case, don�t attempt a one wheeled ramp load�that�s a disaster.   Just put swing arm and rear wheel back on (without driveshaft),  and load it as a two-wheeler.

[sign216]

I wrote a tutorial on lubing the spline shaft, which includes some tips for putting it back together. 
Double-click and fiddle with it to get "album view" to see the text for each photo.

Joe

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sign216/albums/72157625569987011

[Chuck in Indiana]

Like SS said, give us some pix of what you are having a problem with. Patience, grasshopper.. 

[rbond]

Lubing the splines at bevel drive went fine. Problem is splines / u-joint at transmission. One half of u-joint is machined with the shaft, it is not a separate piece. The shaft pulled off the tranny shaft by accident when trying to re-install wheel and bevel drive. Pulled swing arm off to replace drive shaft. U-joint will not go on tranny shaft. NEVER had this happen before any other u-joint, swing bearing, etc. Did not try to hammer it back on, don't know how splines could get messed up enough to prevent the u-joint from sliding on. Anybody got a good used driveshaft / u-joint assembly for sale? Anew one is only $310.00 and up for a new one. And no guarantee it will slide on. 

[Chuck in Indiana]

Maybe if you posted your location someone could come take a look.. apparently it came off so easily, why won't it go back on? That is the question. Gotta be something simple.

[rbond]

I am in Alexandria, Louisiana. I would very much like it if someone could stop by and have a look!

[sign216]

I am in Alexandria, Louisiana. I would very much like it if someone could stop by and have a look!

To get help you need beer/wine and sausages. 

Maybe a serving girl too (although that might be asking for a lot on this board.  Now if this were a Ducati forum....)

[Tom H]

Can you post a picture of the problem???

If you can, a pic of how your trying to get it back together?

As mentioned, if it just slid off, then it should just slide back on (shrug).

Good luck!
Tom

[Kiwi_Roy]

I have had trouble with the VII Sport at times, you have to have them perfectly aligned then they slip in and you wonder what the fuss was all about.


Sent from my shoe phone!

[MMRanch]

rbond

Do I understand , The problem is that the splines won't slide into the fe-male part all the way ... ? 

I have the same problem sometimes with farm equipment.   Usually there is something in the bottom of the fe-male part , might be grease , might be air lock , might be that bolt you can't find ???

I haven't put my first replacement tire on a guzzi yet , so I'm interested in how this turns out for ya .   

[rbond]

Talked to Mike Haven at MPH cycles, he says there is a retaining spring clip on the transmission shaft. Have someone align drive shaft, use a block of wood and a small hammer to persuade shaft to pop on. Will try this coming weekend, been missing riding. This is my daily driver, only drive the car (2000 Camry) when I need to carry fragile (eggs, liquids), heavy, alot of stuff that I can't fit in my bike trunk. I have a slipstreamer windshield too so cold weather riding is possible. In this part of Louisiana it does not stay freezing more than a day or two. So I get a lot more riding weather, rain however can be a problem. Will update if successful or not.

[pyoungbl]

I hate to say this but Mike must be thinking about the CARC system.  There is a retaining clip on the driveshaft and it clips onto a groove on the tranny output shaft on CARC bikes.  I know because I took my Stelvio driveshaft off when I serviced the swingarm bearings.  The V7C is different.  Take a look at the parts list (AF1 Racing has it online).  You will see that the driveshaft is part # GU23328081, identical to the part on my 2013 V7 Special (same part number).  Recently I took mine apart to grease the splines and there was no retaining clip.  There is something else going on here.  That U-joint should easily slip on.  If you have removed the swingarm please post some pictures of your shaft and the splines.  When I did mine I just slipped the U-joint back on and then threaded the swingarm over the driveshaft until I was able to re-install the stub axles that connect the swingarm to the tranny case.

[rbond]

So pyoungbl, when you re-installed the driveshaft, it easily slipped back on the transmission shaft? I am still hoping Mike is still right, I want this fixed now. I do not want to trailer this 5 hours to get to his shop.....

[malik]

I've done it a few times on the V7. Don't remember any clip. Perhaps a little bit of jockeying to get it to fit the spline. Of course, once or twice, I forget the boot, and had to start again.other than that I don't remember any particular difficulty.

[pyoungbl]

Yes, my driveshaft slipped back into place without a problem.  Take a look at the parts diagram I mentioned.  There is no retaining clip.
Here's the inside of the U-joint from my Stelvio...see the clip

and this is the output shaft from the Stelvio tranny

you can see the groove that the clip will mate up with.  That's why it takes a bit of force to get the driveshaft off the output spline...on a CARC bike.

Now the U-joint from the V7

no clip
I did not think to take a photo of the transmission output shaft...never crossed my mind.  Nevertheless, the U-joint does not have a clip and it does slip right back into place.  Have you taken the swingarm completely off the bike?  If so it should be easy to slide the shaft back into place.   If it does not go on easily you have some other problem going on.  After you get the shaft back onto the tranny output shaft you can then thread the swingarm over the shaft and re-install those stub axles...there I go, repeating myself. 

If you still doubt me, feel free to call the 'expert' but please make sure he understands that you are talking about a V7 small block Guzzi.

[rbond]

I do not doubt you for a second. What you show in the picture is exactly like mine. My opinion is no clip as it slid off too easy while I was removing bevel drive and did not know it. So, I will clean the grease off output shaft and use a bright flashlight to check the splines. I do have a tiny square shaped file to open any messed up channels. It is the same size as the splines, used it on the u-joint first to see if that would do the trick (no). I have no idea how it could have gotten boogered up just  trying to insert it back. I did not force it and realized quickly that it come off the shaft and that the joint dropped down so it would not go back on. Did remove swing arm. I believe I figured out how to re-install rear wheel with bevel on swing arm, I hope to find out if I am right this weekend.

[SmithSwede]

I think it's a good idea to now remove all the grease, from both the transmission shaft and the U-joint side.  Spray down the transmission splines and the U-joint splines with lots of WD40, clean with a toothbrush, blow compressed air all over.    Just get it super clean.   Then see if it will fit back together. 

Maybe there is a some grit stuck in the grease.    Maybe there is something stuck inside the U-joint cavity that is preventing the splines from mating up fully.

If it does fit back together, then grease it up again and re-fit. 

Personally, I would not be trying to file much of anything.    It was working fine before.    It came off smoothly.   There's no mechanical reason why it wouldn't go right back on. 

[SmithSwede]

One other thought.   It probably won't fit back on unless the two ends are truly square to each other.  Maybe you are suffering from an optical illusion of some sort based on your position, and you think you are presenting the two ends square to each other, but actually you aren't.

Try it from different positions.  Move the end around a lot, wiggle it back and forth, etc. 

Is there anyone else who could give it a go?   Sometimes all it takes is a different set of eyes and hands and boom---the thing goes back together.

[SmithSwede]

Rbond, your problem is really bugging me. 

I had another idea.   Consider heating up the drive shaft in the oven at 150 to 175 degrees for a while.  Expand the metal of the U-joint and maybe it slips on easy to the trans shaft.

[Tom H]

SS, "I" would not heat up a U Joint due to messing up the greased bearings. I do agree with having, even a neighbor with no mechanical experiance try to slide the U Joint on to the trans shaft splines.

This confuses me as well. I'm not a V7 guy, but my loops and EV have a U Joint and a splined trans output shaft.

If the U Joint just slid off the output shaft, it should just slide back on.

With my loops, and installing the engine/trans assy, I have had to rotate the drive shaft/U Joint to line the splines up. Or set the assy down and then pull the drive shaft assy to the trans.

I'm trying to say this the right way. Maybe sit down with a beverage of choice and look at it again. As mentioned, grab a neighbor, significant other, the kid that mows lawns and have them try to just slide the drive shaft assy on to the trans shaft.

Again, good luck!!!!
Tom

[rbond]

OK, tried to clean up the splines on the trans shaft, still will not slide on. Tried a block of wood and hammer, would just bounce off. Tried lightly directly on end of shaft, still no go. Splines on u-joint look good, still not sure of splines on shaft. Since it is recessed, can't get a real good look. There has to be a way without taking the transmission out of the frame and taking it apart. Still bugs me as to what the heck happened to screw it up this bad...... Mine is just like what pyoungbl has pictures of, no retaining clip. Thanks to everyone that has responded, it helps a little that someone is trying to help.

[rbond]

Tried again to clean up splines, no luck. Re-assembled rear end minus drive shaft, guess I will have to take it to MPH and see if he can fix it.

[Tom H]

Sorry to hear that Please let us know what they find out and what solved the problem.

Tom

[Kiwi_Roy]

  Splines on u-joint look good, still not sure of splines on shaft. Since it is recessed, can't get a real good look. There has to be a way without taking the transmission out of the frame and taking it apart. Still bugs me as to what 

If you cannot see the shaft properly how do you know something is not blocking it?